Ancient Magic
by kennedy ann
Summary: Ginny and Hermione with a bit of a twist.
1. Chapter 1

Ancient Magic.

***Scribble scribble scribble. Looks up from keyboard.* I don't even own the thoughts in my head. You can't sue me! **

* * *

><p><strong>A few monthes after the war.<strong>

Hermione never intended to walk off the face of the earth. Quite the opposite in fact, she wished nothing more than to find herself. After being tortured, humiliated, almost killed, and then praised for killing, Hermione found herself in need of a little soul searching.

She never told her friends she had submitted several applications to attend muggle universities after she graduated Hogwarts. What started out as a small suggestion at the dinner table one night turned into a year-long process of research, essays, tests, interviews, and finally, 15 acceptance letters to every Ivy League school in both England and America she had applied to. To say her parents were proud of her would be the understatement of the century. Up until she had received her letter from Hogwarts, being accepted into the finest schools education could offer had been her wildest, if not only wet dream. She never expected she would have friends growing up, Harry, Ron and Ginny being the first. So when each letter came in the mail she felt an undeniable sense of dread build within her body.

It only took a few hours to pack up everything in her head girl's room. 15 letters hung open in a neat grid, thumb tacked to Hermione's letter board by her desk. Princeton, Yale, Colombia, Harvard, Cornell, Dartmouth, Stanford, Duke, Manchester, Northwestern, Oxford, Cambridge, NYU, John's Hopkins, and Brown. Most had some sort of scholarship offer as well as financial aid, an incredible education in any muggle subject she could imagine and a chance to blend into the crowd. A chance to escape the lime light that came along with being one of "The Golden Trio".

Picking up her wand the brunette walked a few paces towards the other side of the room.

"Here goes nothing…" she spoke softly. Closing her eyes tightly she spun around and threw the thin piece of wood at the board, hearing a softy thud then a loud clank as it fell to the floor.

"This is it. The moment of truth." Hermione said to herself. She slowly opened her eyes and upon seeing the small hole in the bottom right corners letter, ran up to grab it. She pulled the letter off the board and read it to herself aloud.

"Dear Hermione Granger. It is my pleasure to grant you admission into Brown University based on the incredible essay you composed, the highest NEWTs we have ever seen, and the 100% you received on your Basic Muggle Education Exam. We have provided you with a plane ticket, and a new alias, if you so choose to attend our University. Hoping to hear from you soon, Erin Roberts; Dean of Magical Student Integration at Brown University."

Hermione flipped the front page over to uncover her knew name, class schedule, and living quarters.

"Emma Watson… 21 credits plus magic classes every other weekend… and it looks like I'll be staying in… Buxton House? Well, I guess I am international so that does make sense. God I hope I don't pick up an American accent. That would be absolutely dreadful…"

* * *

><p><strong>Four years later.<strong>

Life was all about experiences. Well, that's what Ginny had always been taught at least. When her brother died, that was quite the experience. When she graduated Hogwarts top of her class, with the house quidditch cup, that was a much better experience. When the holy head harpies signed her to the team, it was an experience of a life time. But none held so much significance as when her best friend left her and her family behind without even saying goodbye. That one experience taught her not to trust people, since even the closest of friends left you in the end.

"Hey, Ginny! Hold up a sec, mate!"

"Whacha want, Charlie?" the redhead asked over her shoulder.

"Finish up tying your God damn trainers and lets go grab a beer. We can talk a bit; get to know each other better. How's that sound, cutie?"

"It sounds like you need to Google the phrase "no means no". I'm not sleeping with you again, so please do me a favor and find another flavor for this week."

Ginny turned around and was instantly greeted by a smirking brunette. She was aware of how attracted to her Ginny was, between her killer body and radiant smile, Ginny knew she was lucky to peak such a beautiful girls interest. But after one night of sloppy, alcohol induced sex, Ginny knew she had to cut the cord.

"After tasting you, I can't think of any other bitch I want to tap-"

"Can you please stop embarrassing yourself? Our little rendezvous the other night was nothing more than me scratching an itch, one you couldn't even satisfy. So back off, or I'll talk to Cap and she'll bench your arse 'cause I can't work with you. Comprende?"

Was it a bit harsh? Most likely, but Ginny dealt with overzealous females all the time and could tell that she'd have to shake this one pretty damn hard.

"No I don't Ginny. I don't understand how you can fuck me one night and completely ignore me the next. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not, because I have my eye all over your fine fucking arse and I'm not giving up what's rightfully mine."

"Yeah you just remember that next time you see me shoving my tongue down some other girl's throat and there is nothing you can do about it 'cause I. Don't. Like. You." Ginny grabbed her bags and pushed her way passed the seething brunette.

"God I wish I was straight sometimes…" the redhead muttered just loud enough for the brunette to hear. Before Charlie had any time to retort, the flames of the floo network had already engulfed the fiery tempered woman.

"I bet you won't later…" Charlie spoke to herself with sneer. She may not have been on the team for longer than a week, but the redhead's reputation was well known amongst the entire International Quidditch League. The girl was a player, and Charlie was determined not to get played.

* * *

><p><strong>Same moment in time, different time zone.<strong>

"Emma! Where did you put my red scarf?"

A curly haired brunette popped her head out from the bathroom.

"Are you serious? It's like 70 degrees out there!"

"Listen Emma, I know how you Brits seem to love your practicality so I'm just gonna come out and say it. I've got a hicky, that my boyfriend didn't give me, and I REALLY don't want him to see it and start asking questions. Okay?"

"I must say I'm incredibly disappointed in you, Jaye… why don't you just tell him you think you're gay instead of messing around with girls behind his back?" the brunette asked, tooth brush in her cheek.

"Because not all of us are as sure of our sexually preferences as you are, oh brilliant one. I don't want to break up with Chuck, and then realize I have wanted dick this whole time and it was nothing more than a faze influenced by my lesbian roommate."

The brunette shook her head and spit into the sink, running the water to clean her mouth out.

"I always knew you had a crush on me!" she shouted from the bathroom.

"I just can't help it, that sexy accent has me wrapped around your finger." Jaye replied with a smirk.

The brunette came out of the bathroom with a smile on her face.

"Literally… or figuratively…?" she joked with the blonde.

Jaye pretended to think about the question for a second, tapping her chin as she contemplated the ceiling fan.

"Well let's see… when was the last time you got laid? That should answer your question." She said with a wink.

"You're just hating on me because you know you aren't my type." Emma stuck her tongue out at the blonde and did a little dance.

"Oh I know all too well. You prefer the redheads… with long… slender bodies and muscular arms… don't you, home-girl?"

"WOW. Please, I am begging you to never call me that again. And yes. I do."

The blonde chuckled to herself.

"Don't I know it? I remember sophomore year, you'd bring a new one in every other night. I swear I think I've heard the moans and groans of every redhead on campus. What happened to that by the way? Did you really go through them all? Were none of them worthy of a repeat performance?"

"Why do I always feel so shallow when we talk about my sex life? Or rather, lack of one, recently…"

"There is gonna be a party later after that quidditch match. You're coming with me because apparently I need a babysitter when I'm around hot girls." The blonde half joked, pointing to her neck.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see. I'm not going to the match though, but I'll come to the party if you absolutely need me to hold your leash."

Jaye shrugged and pressed on.

"So about that scarf… I have class in like 5 minutes and need to run clear across campus."

Emma reached under the couch they shared in their small living room and handed her roommate a red knitted scarf.

"I hope he doesn't want any neck action!" the brunette called to the blonde as she left their dorm.

"God that girl is looking for trouble…" Emma said to herself. She grabbed her wand off the counter, tucking it into the right side of her right boot. Giving herself a once over in the mirror she pulled her pants down at the bottoms, then up at the waist.

"Looking good, Granger." She spoke to the mirror.

* * *

><p><strong>That afternoon, in the US.<strong>

Ginny flew around the pitch a few times in an attempt to get her blood moving. She loved playing in America, the fans were fucking nuts for quidditch and the girls would throw themselves at her constantly. Something she might need after the game to shake her latest obsessed conquest.

"Hey, ginger! Were all partying at some sorority house after the match 'cause word around here is the girls are fucking wild! You in?"

"Hey, don't call me ginger. And when am I not in, Rachel?" the redhead looked at her with a lopsided grin.

"Dude, we are so getting laid to night!" Rachel sang as she accelerated passed Ginny.

"This is defiantly going to be a long night…"

* * *

><p><strong>After party.<strong>

"Hey Emma!" Jaye had to yell at the top of her lungs to be heard over the pounding techno music.

"Yes, Jaye?"

"I'm going to go say hi to that really tall redhead over there! I think she's new! You wanna come check it out with me?" she continued to yell.

"I'm gonna hold back some, haven't really had much to drink and I bet I've already been there before. Go for it girl, just don't let her suck on your neck!" the brunette answered.

"Okay… suit yourself, girl!"

Emma watched as the blonde made her way over to the redhead, currently nursing a red plastic cup.

"Hey! I don't think I've ever seen you before. Are you new here?" Jaye yelled to the slightly tipsy redhead.

"Um… no? I'm traveling here on a sports team, and we just got done with a match." The redhead said, clearly not interested in the blonde.

"You mean quidditch, right?"

The redhead was caught off guard by this.

"Um… are you a witch?" she said carefully.

"No, I'm not. But my roommate is! And she happens to be English too! Maybe you know her?"

Ginny chuckled to herself when the blonde leaned forward, clearly unafraid to throw in a little cleavage.

"You do know there are like, thousands of witches in England right? Not all of us know each other."

"You want to dance?" the blonde asked, reaching out to take the witches drink from her. Ginny pulled the drink back and laughed under her breath. This one clearly hadn't been picking up girls that long.

"Listen, mate." Ginny yelled. "I have a very specific type, and your green eyes and blonde hair, although make you absolutely stunning, don't really do it for me. But that brunette over there with the pony-tail who keeps staring at us, I bet she'd be all into you, but listen. You are gonna have to be very forceful. She likes a girl who lays down the law and gets what she wants. She won't sleep with you unless she feels you won't give up until she does."

The blonde nodded her head understandingly.

"Thanks!" she yelled over her shoulder, making her way over to Charlie.

"Fucking piranhas these girls are…" she said to herself making her way to the dance floor. Finding a particularly beautiful brunette dancing by herself she came up behind her and rested her hand on the smaller girl's hip.

A few songs later Ginny had abandoned her drink, grabbing the brunettes hips firmly with both hands as they pushed their sweating bodies together with the beat.

"Damn Emma! Look at you getting some!"

The brunette shot her obnoxious roommate a look that clearly stated 'not now.'

It was too late though. As Jaye was about to turn around and leave them be, her newest hook-up, Charlie, arrived.

"Damn girl, you really move on quick now, don't you?" Charlie sneered.

"Well, since we all seem to know each other I mind as well let you know that you are currently grinding with the girl I mentioned earlier." Ginny looked at her like she was crazy.

"My roommate… the witch from England…? Where you even listening to a word I said?" Jaye asked the redhead, clearly a bit put-off.

"Oh! Yeah, I remember now!"

'Wait, that voice sounds so bloody familiar. No. It can't be. I've just had a bit too much to drink is all.' Emma thought to herself.

"Hey, Emma! We're gonna get out of here! I trust you'll be able to escort your lady friend back to our place without me." Jaye said with a wink.

"That better not be where you're heading!" Emma yelled back to the receding form.

'Fuck… she sounds familiar. Maybe it's just 'cause she's obviously from England.' Ginny thought. After all, she had never met an Emma before…

Ginny moved her hands from the brunette's hips to her flat stomach. 'And I've defiantly never been with someone who felt this good…' Ginny thought.

'Wow, maybe I haven't fucked this one; I don't remember my body fitting so well into anyone I've ever been with…' Hermione mused. She intertwined her right hand with her dance partners and reached behind her head with her left, running her fingers through the girl's fiery locks and pulling her face into the back of her neck.

Ginny took this as a hint and gently began nipping her way across the sun kissed skin. The brunette tasted sweet, which only made Ginny want more and more of her. Hermione felt a hicky in the making and turned herself into the woman paying so much attention to her neck. Eyes closed, heart thumping wildly in her chest to the base of the music, the brunette took to plunge and kissed the redhead hard on the mouth. As their lips met they both felt an electric charge run through them, leaving them both breathless.

'What the fuck was that!' Ginny thought to herself. She placed her forehead on the smaller girls shoulder in an effort to catch her breath. Something just happened to her, to them that she had no other word to describe, but magical.

"Did you feel that?" the brunette whispered into Ginny's ear. Ginny could only nod her head, unable to form words.

"Well, do you know what that was? 'Cause if it was what I think it might be, then we very might as well be fucked."

Ginny heard the words being said to her, she knew the implications, and for once in her life she didn't care. Her body needed Emma.

"If I don't fuck you, I think I will regret it for the rest of my life." Ginny said, just loud enough for Emma to hear.

"I know exactly what you mean, but if I fuck you, and you fuck me, we might be… well joined magically for the rest of our lives! And I don't even know your name!"

"My name is Ginny."

The redhead took a deep breath and looked up into the most terrified face she had ever seen.

"Herm… Hermione?"

"Ha… hi Gin…"

"No…" Ginny could already feel the tears stinging her eyes. She shook her head and pushed away from the brunette. "No, your name is Emma… you are not Hermione, you are Emma!"

Ginny seemed to be working herself into quite the frenzy and had knocked over a few couples, drinks, and chairs in her effort to get as far from the witch as possible.

"You! Are Emma! Not the girl who left me all alone 4 years ago! She was killed by death eaters, or run over by a bus, or has drowned at the bottom of the ocean, or is in some prison camp being tortured because there is no way in HELL my Hermione, MY Hermione would willingly leave me without saying goodbye or explaining why she couldn't be there for me! No!" Ginny was screaming across the room at the dumb-founded brunette.

'This wasn't supposed to happen…' Hermione thought. In all her life, she never thought she'd run into Ginny like this. She had worked so hard at keeping herself away from the girl.

"Gin, please… settle down. Here, take my hand." The brunette said cautiously, holding out her hand.

Ginny stared at her like she was a ghost.

"Gin… please… take my hand." Ginny shook her head 'no'. She told herself 'no'. In the midst of all these no's her hand still managed not to listen and took hers instead. Once their fingers touched, that same feeling, like lighting had struck their bodies, pulled them together. How Ginny went from terrified of the smaller girl to kissing her fiercely was beyond them both or anyone else in the room for that matter. But neither could pull away.

"Take-", kiss, "me home-" kiss, "now!"

Hermione grabbed her wand from her boot and apperated them right into her and Jaye's apartment.

"I fucking hate you, just so you know." Ginny growled, roughly pulling Hermione's shirt over her head.

"If you fucking hate me, then why the fuck are you kissing me?" Hermione growled back, quickly unbuckling Ginny's belt and popping the button off of her trousers.

"Because… I haven't seen you in 4 fucking years, you lying bitch!"

Ginny managed to get Hermione's bra off and started working on her pants.

"If I'm such a bitch then why do you want to fuck me so bad?" Hermione panted, pulling away from the redheads lips just long enough to get it out.

"You know I don't remember you being so vulgar." Ginny said sarcastically, anger still evident in her voice. The athlete picked up the brunette, who chased the forward movement by wrapping her thighs around the taller girl's waist.

"Bedroom, to the left, now." Hermione commanded as she worked her mouth over Ginny's neck, none too careful about leaving marks.

Ginny found the bed and threw Hermione on it, none too gently.

"You left me, Hermione." Ginny said angrily and she pulled off the brunettes skin tight jeans.

"I lost my best friend at the worst time of my life and it's entirely your fault!"

"I had to leave! You don't understand!"

"Fuck you, Hermione! FUCK YOU!"

The brunette reached up and grabbed the athlete by the back of the neck, pulling her down till they were once more lip locked in a passionate embrace.

"Please, Ginny. Please fuck me… I need you to fuck me…" Hermione begged and moaned into Ginny's mouth.

"If I fuck you, _Emma_, we will most likely be magically bonded for the rest of our lives."

By this time Ginny had already stripped herself of her jeans, panties and bra as well as the brunette's skimpy undergarments.

"Stop pretending like we aren't already and fuck me!" Hermione hissed into the redhead's ear.

"I can't Hermione…" but her words and actions seemed to once more be at a conflict, and once more her actions had won.

Hermione heard the 'no', but she felt the yes.

"Yes…" the brunette hissed into Ginny's mouth as she felt 2 fingers plunge into her.

"Out of all the ways I've imagined finding you again; this has never been the way it went down." Ginny panted into Hermione's ear, thrusting inside her as hard as she could.

"Oh… yeah?" the brunette managed to just make out between pants and moans of pleasure and desire.

"Yeah," Ginny grunted. "It was always more like this…"

All of a sudden the thrusting became secondary, the passion thrown into over load. Ginny kissed Hermione in a way she never thought she'd ever get to. The kiss was filled with all the nights she found comfort in some random brunette with dark brown eyes. It held the longing she felt every morning she woke up, not knowing where Hermione might be. It was filled with the terrifying fact that her best friend could have been dead and she would never have gotten the chance to show her exactly how much she needed her in her life. It held 4 years of pain, 4 years of love, 4 years of loneliness and it took Hermione's breath away even more so then the electric pulse that kept hitting them every time they would reconnect after a long period of time.

"Ginny, I can't-", moan, "tell you how- oh god… holy fucking Christ! How… sorry I am for-", kiss, "leaving-"

"Shut up, and make love to me." Ginny said pleadingly. She pushed her rock hard body flush against the softer one beneath her and began to pick up the pace. Just as Ginny could feel herself breaking a sweat she felt Hermione tighten around her fingers and her whole body began to shake uncontrollably.

"That's right, come for me baby…" Ginny whispered into the brunettes ear. Just as she reached the end of her climax, a beam of light shot out from her heart and hit Ginny square in the chest.

"I'm not letting you leave me, ever again. Please Hermione, please…"

Hermione understood the redhead's pleas and entered her with her own hand, still completely aware they now had two bands of light connecting their chests.

"Fuck Hermione… I can't... Fucking… believe this…" Ginny panted.

Hermione flipped the athlete onto her back in order to get more leverage and began to pump into her at a steady pace.

"Ginny, if I make you come… there's no turning back…" Hermione cautioned. Ginny kissed her lips softly and looked into her eyes, their bodies still rocking back and forth.

"I've been in love with you since before I can remember… ahhh, fuck… I'd rather be joined to you for the rest of my life, then go another day without you knowing tha-at!"

"Ginny, please… before I change my mind, please come for me. I don't want to make the same mistake twice!" Hermione pleaded, looking into the most intense green eyes she had ever seen.

"I lo-ove you baby!" Ginny called out in euphoria. Once she regained control of her body and her breathing she collapsed into the bed.

"So I guess those magical beams of light are…?"

"The physical representation of when soul mates find each other. Well, at least that's what I read back at Hogwarts. It's really ancient magic and apparently only 2 percent of the entire world ever experiences it so…"

"What do we do now?" Ginny asked.

"You're supposed to ask me for coffee."

"Seriously? I meant how do we get rid of these light beam… thingers?"

"Oh! Those. Yeah, well the book said they don't go away till the couple in question gets… well… married." Hermione said, slightly wincing how very wrong the next few minutes could go.

"Okay, well. I can't marry you. I don't really trust you not to leave again and I do love you with all my heart, but you have yet to reciprocate those feelings so I'm feeling a bit foolish at the moment." Ginny said with a frown, pulling the pillow under her head to her body and hugging it like a lost child.

"Now that we are bonded, it doesn't matter where I go or who I pretend to be, your wand will always be able to find my wand. And once we get married you wand will always be able to find my heart and vice versa."

"Wait, stop! I just said I'm not going to marry you, Hermione. I can't be with someone I don't trust! I can't be with someone who doesn't love me the way I love them!"

"This is a conversation for another day, okay? Come here…" Hermione said softly, pulling the other girl in a close as humanly possible.

'Holy fuck it's been quite the day.' Hermione thought as she felt Ginny's breathing even out.

"I left for many reasons, Gin. But you were never one of them. I… love you too." She whispered into the redhead's hair and kissed her forehead softly.

"And I'm so very sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

**Still don't own much of anything. :T**

**Oh! It's nonlinear. Obviously. :)**

**Chapter 2**

**2 years after the war.**

"Yeah, that's right. Right there… oh gods."

'Red hair, green eyes, soft pale skin lightly smattered with freckles hiding a defined physic. Soft pink lips, high cheekbones and a fiery intensity so… so…'

"Ginny…"

"What?" the redhead asked, stopping abruptly. The look of surprise on the brunettes faces confirming the fact that she just said someone else's name.

"Wow, I guess what those girls on campus said about you is true."

Within minutes the redhead was dressed and out the door.

"My name is Victoria, not fucking Ginny, you slut." She said, slamming the door behind her.

'I can't believe I just did that. Fuck it's getting bad…'

Hermione sat up in her bed, the realization of what she just did really setting in.

"I am the world's biggest bitch…" she said to the empty room. Silently she made a vow to stop using the girls on campus to get off to the image of Ginevra Weasly.

"Hey, what was that all about?" asked her roommate, Jaye.

Hermione just shook her head, getting up with no shame. It's not like her roommate hadn't already seen her naked anyways.

"Hey girl, as fine as your body is, I'd rather you put some clothes on."

"Says the 'straight' girl who cannot seem to stop staring at my tits…" Emma said under her breathe.

"Hey, if my straightness makes you uncomfortable or something I want you to tell me. But not till you cover that rack I am oh, so jealous of." She said with a wink.

"Get out." The brunette spat at the girl.

"You said her name this time, didn't you?"

"What… how the hell-"

"You say her name when you sleep, almost every night actually. It makes me kind of jealous of her. I wish someone loved me the way you do her, who ever she is."

"Shut your mouth Jaye, you have no idea what you're talking about." Emma sneered, putting on a shirt and a pair of boxers.

"Why don't you just um, owl her? That's what you wizard types do, right? Tell her you're sorry for whatever you did and that you madly in love with her or… something."

"Just stay out of it. Okay? That's all I ask from you, to stay out of anything and everything that has to do with Ginny."

Emma grabbed her trainers, put them on, sans socks, and pulled her spirals back into a low ponytail.

"I'm going for a run." She said brushing past the blonde.

"Well, I wish _I_ could run without a bra on…"

* * *

><p><strong>The morning after the party.<strong>

Emma stood at the counter of her kitchenette watching the dark aroma filled liquid flow from the basket above to the clear pot below. She had fully expected for last night to be a dream; a terrible dream that would end with her alone in a cold bed, heartbroken. When she had opened her eyes to find red hair, the most beautiful shade of red she'd ever seen, splayed across her pillow, she freaked out.

'What the fuck!'

Emma jumped out of bed, rather surprised when her action didn't wake the sleeping beauty. Instead she just rolled over, onto her back, the sheet left abandoned beside her. Emma couldn't help but stare in awe at the sheer beauty before her. Ginny's small chest rose and fell with her even breaths, eyes moving behind eyelids, giving away her dreams. Her hand lay on her stomach, draped over defined abs that looks painfully sculpted to be strong and lean. Following down, the brunette caught a glimpse of a small red thatch of hair, calling to her.

Emma glanced at the clock, registering the time and day, she realized she had magic studies in a few hours and would have to get ready for the day soon. This realization led her to the coffee pot in front of her. She heard the door open and close, followed by a few giggles. Sure enough her roommate, followed by the gorgeous brunette from last night entered the kitchenette hand-in-hand.

"Good morning!" Jaye said, swatting away the hand currently trying to pinch her backside.

"Quite it, Charlie!" she said with a playful smile.

"Looks like someone got laid last night… " the blonde probed her roommate. Sure enough a soft voice drifted into the kitchenette seconds later.

"Hermione… come back to bed…" the redhead softly whined, wrapping the sheet around her body tighter and rubbing her eyes, attempting to get rid of the sleepies.

"Oh, shit." Charlie said softly.

"Ginny… you just fucked Hermione Granger. Hermione Granger! Oh my god!" she yelled breathlessly jumping up and down.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Can I please get your autograph? I was in 3rd year when you defeated you-know-who and I swear you were such an inspiration. Oh my god I cannot believe you just slept with Ginny!"

Hermione caught her roommate's confused expression and panicked. Jaye only lifted an eyebrow and mouthed "Ginny?" to the witch. Hermione caught her breath and nodded her head discreetly.

"Oh, did I say Hermione? I must have hit my head or something… I meant Emma. Emma, this is Charlie… Charlie… Emma…" Ginny tried to cover her tracks.

"Its fine, Gin. And no, Charlie, I will not autograph anything for you, sorry." She said with a sad half-smile.

"Hey, Charlie. I see Em-I mean… Hermione…?" the brunette nodded once, "didn't make enough coffee for all four of us. Would you like to experience the campus Starbucks? I promise you, they are quite good, even if they are totally overpriced." Jaye asked hopefully. She could see Ginny's face, flushed as red as her hair as she tightened the sheet around her once more.

"Sure…" Charlie said, eyeing Hermione and Ginny carefully.

"Great! We'll see you two lovebirds later!" Jaye said with a radiant smile. She grabbed the brunettes hand and sped her way out of the apartment.

"I just… royally fucked things up, didn't I?"

Hermione gave the girl an inquisitive look, trying to decide how she went the last four years without her in her life.

"No, not really. Jaye already knew I was a witch, so her finding out my real name and political history isn't much a big deal. But… from now on, unless we are in the bedroom, it's Emma. Got it?" Hermione asked carefully.

Ginny seemed like she was contemplating something.

"Okay. I can respect that. Emma." The redhead made a face, the foreign name tasting bitter to her. This made Hermione chuckle to herself.

"I love you…" the brunette mused, shaking her head side to side.

"Oh, I know." Ginny said seductively, letting the sheet wrapped around her body fall to the ground, pooling around her feet. "I bet you love… everything, about me. Don't you?" she asked, stepping into Hermione's personal space, effectively trapping her between the edge of the counter and her naked body.

"Um… yeah… I defiantly do." Her brown eyes raked over Ginny's lithe form, unconsciously licking her lips.

"Good…" Ginny glanced down at the barely visible bars of light connecting their chests. "Because this time… you're not getting away so easily." She growled threading her hand in the brunettes tangled curls.

* * *

><p><strong>A few months after the war.<strong>

Hermione took a look around the coffee shop she entered, it was pretty deserted, and there were posters of various town and university functions littering the walls. She smelt the aroma of dark imported coffee and spice chai being brewed and steamed behind a small counter top towards the back of the small room. She could make out the sound of some college students conversing heatedly in the back corner by the counter and briefly noted they all had bulges by their ankles or in the waist-ban of their pants.

"Guess I'm at the right place…" the brunette muttered tiredly under her breath. Turns out her course load was a bit over ambitious. She accepted that as the price to pay for being unable to make up your mind, landing her with a double major in physics (the closest thing to transfiguration she could find) and cultural anthropology (something she could take back with her to the ministry when she reemerged into the Wizarding world).

"Um… hey everyone, is this the 3 o'clock "honors" meeting?" she asked the group, using air quotes, showing that she had gotten the memo to call it that. The group all smiled warmly and started waving her closer to join them.

"Come on there, take a seat!" an American man said loudly from the middle of the group, which upon closer inspection held about 35 people.

'I could have sworn there weren't this many… Oh, must have been glamour charm around them…'

"So what's your name there, cutie?" a very deep voice asked her. She turned to the coffee colored man with a radiant smile. He reminded her of a very young Kinsley Shacklebolt, someone she missed dearly. With a sense of melancholy, Hermione answered the man with a small smile.

"My name is Emma Watson. I'm new here, obviously."

"And clearly from England!" she heard a woman sporting a Sudbury accent yell from the back of the couches. Surely enough, a woman with an electric blue Mohawk emerged from that very spot.

"Hi Emma! My name is Candice, Candice Jones. But you can call me Candy." The woman said with a wink, shaking the brown eyed woman's hand.

"Did you go to Hogwarts? I never got the chance to… see both me parents are both muggles! They were, well… not exactly into the idea of sending me away to learn magic. But they did get me a tutor! Eventually. But that's only 'cause me mom was sick of me burning down the kitchen by accident. Understandable of course… but I still think it's a pretty shitty reason to let your kid learn who she is. You know?"

"Hey, Candice! Can you sit your ass down and not maul this young witch over? Thank you! My name is Ja'qule. Welcome to the group! How about you tell us a little something about yourself, including your real name." the dark man said with another cheeky wink.

Completely over whelmed by all the heads nodding for her to go on about herself, Hermione felt herself going into a frenzy.

'You have faced death eaters! Hell! Voldemort himself! Surely you can tell these good people something about you without fainting!'

"Well, as I said before my name is Emma Watson."

"What's your middle name?" a shout came from the back.

"Um… I… I don't have one." The brunette stumbled.

"That just means that ain't your real name." a man with a very a low southern drawl said dismissively.

"Hey, you can trust us. We are your new family, your magical family. No one's going to tell anybody. Okay?" Ja'qule said with a reassuring smile.

"Um, okay. But! You guys are not, I repeat not allowed to ask me any questions about it. Ok?"

They all nodded their heads excitedly.

"My birth name is, Hermione Jean Granger."

* * *

><p><strong>The afternoon after the after party.<strong>

"Okay, so these meetings you go to every other weekend, what are they for?" Ginny asked, threading her fingers into Emma's hand as soon as their feet hit the pavement outside her apartment building.

"Saturdays is like a social event, we meet up in this little coffee shop owned by a witch who lives on top of it. We talk about what's going on in the Wizarding world, quidditch standing of which I hear you are doing exceptionally well, what's going on in the university, what we learned those weeks and how its relevant to the magical world, and sometimes we play things like wizards chess and exploding snaps. It's kind of like a bi-monthly Weasly gathering, with the exception of all the red hair." The brunette finished by roughing up Ginny's bright red locks a bit, earning her the famous Weasly glare.

"Continue…" Ginny said with fake annoyance.

"Then on Sundays… we dual. All day. It kind of reminds me of the DA really. We go into the alley behind the coffee shop, it's enchanted to look empty all the time, and we call each other out and cheer each other on. We even keep tallies of our wins and losses on the stone wall. It's all good fun really…"

"How many wins and losses do you have, Emma?" Ginny asked facetiously.

"I… do well for myself." The brunette tried to skirt the question.

"Oh please! I've seen you duel before Hermione! You're bloody ruthless!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Hey, it's Emma till we get there, Gin."

"Woo… they know your real name? How did you get away with that? Most people were mauling you for your autograph after the war!"

"Well, I made them promise me not to make a big deal out of it, or I wouldn't tell them." Emma explained, bringing the redheads hand up to place a chaste kiss on her knuckles.

"And that actually worked?" Ginny asked disbelief evident in her voice.

"Well, not at first. But they let off of me after I stopped showing up to the meetings. My good friend there, Ja'qule showed up at my dorm after a few weeks and convinced me they would treat me like a human being. They have been my family here ever since."

Hermione could see Ginny's demeanor change instantly.

"Ginny! I didn't mean, I mean you and your brother and Harry and your family, you guys are my real family. You always will be." The brunette looked into her lovers green eyes reassuringly.

"Well we're almost there, just around this corner."

Sure enough the women arrived seconds later at the little coffee shop you had to really concentrate on to see. Hermione opened to door for Ginny, squeezing her hand in encouragement. Once they made there was to the back Hermione took the lead.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. We got caught up this morning."

"I bet you did, who's this lovely lady?" a girl with a bright yellow Mohawk asked.

Ginny, too busy looking at the rest of the shop tuned out everything till she heard Hermione say the word "girlfriend".

Snapping her head forward she threw a questioning look at the brunette.

"No, I'm not. Yet. You, have yet to ask me for coffee. Hi all! I'm Ginny Weasly!"

No one could have been prepared for what happened next. Guys were throwing themselves at hers, girls begging for a picture with her, camera phones all ready, Hermione grabbed her wand on instinct and stepped in front of the redhead, trying to shield her from the onslaught of pens and papers being forced into her face.

"Everybody! Please step the sod off! She is a bloody quidditch player! Not a sodden rock star!" Hermione yelled at the top of her lungs, effectively silencing the gaggle-fuck.

"Now, Ginny is here as my guest, not for a celebrity signing! Please go back to your chairs and couches and treat her like a human being!"

The crowd eventually started shuffling their way back to where they were previously, some of the guys and a few girls still hanging around with their number scrawled on a piece of notebook paper.

"Did you not here me introduce her as my girlfriend people. Please, quit thinking with your reproductive organs and have some dignity!" Hermione yelled towards the young adults casting longing stares at Ginny's breasts and abs.

"Hey, what did I just say? I'm not your girlfriend, Herm. But I am incredibly gay, so you guys should probably make your way back to your seats before this gets embarrassing for you."

"Fine! Ginny, would you like to have coffee with me this afternoon?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"Why, Hermione! I would simply love to!" Ginny said mockingly. "Okay females, now I may be a lesbian, but now I have a date with my soon to be girlfriend," Ginny could see Hermione mouth a sour 'soon to be?' out of the corner of her eye, "so I would very much like you all to take some seats as well. Seeing as she is the most powerful witch currently living. Thank you." she ended her monologue with a sickly sweet smile that had most of the people around her leaning away from.

* * *

><p><strong>After the meeting.<strong>

"This coffee thing isn't that bad…" Ginny mused, stirring the swirl of mocha, caramel and whipped cream into her steaming beverage.

"That's because it's mostly sugar. So tell me, Gin, what have you been up to the last four years?" Hermione asked, blowing on her piping hot double shot.

"Well, I guess I should start from when you left. I spent the entire summer with Ron and Harry traveling Europe trying to find you. Ron lost his illuminator thinger in the last battle, so we had to do it by word of mouth, except there wasn't any. We got into a few squabbles with some of the remaining death eaters who had gone into hiding, and your perents seemed to have no idea who you were. Then Ron deserted us when he found the letters I had been writing you, too afraid to send to you. He couldn't stand that I was in love with you, the girl he was so sure he was meant to marry. We got into a fit and he took off after I made it very apparent you obviously wanted nothing to do with either of us. Harry insisted we abandon search until we had solid proof that you were still alive. I insisted we kept going until we had proof you were dead, but Harry got my mother involved. So I came back to the burrow for a couple weeks, but that didn't last long. I got an invitation from the International Quidditch League to attend their pre-season training camp where the scouts from various teams could see us in real action. That was… the hardest month of my life. But, I guess it paid off because a week later I was signing a four year contract to the Harpies. This is my last year, but I've just hit my peak. I'll probably be doing this for a few more years. As it stands I make enough money to pretty much do whatever I want. Down sides are the reoccurring trips to St. Mungos and the mobs I seem to encounter everywhere, as seen today."

Hermione kept quit and took in everything Ginny had to see. She knew she had affected the young woman with her absence, but not to this extent.

"I became a frequent visitor of this pub right outside of the stadium, getting trashed every night made me worthless. Self fulfilled prophecy I suppose, I know I definitely considered myself worthless when you left. Gwenog found me pissed outside of the pub one night and took me back to the barracks. She cleaned me up and sobered me up, then threatened to kick me off the team if I kept it up. So… I stopped drinking, and started… sleeping with random women. Always brunette, brown eyed if I could find them. Mostly muggles. Three years later I had a match in America, found a brown haired hottie dancing at a party and now I'm magically bound to her for the rest of my life. It's not so bad though, she's really great in bed."

Hermione was completely dumbfounded. Not knowing what to say she stared at her coffee intensely, praying Ginny would break the insurmountable tension between them sometime soon.

"So that's my life's story, what's yours, Emma?" Ginny asked, taking a sip of her sugary beverage.

"Um…" was all Hermione seemed to get out. She chanced a look up, expecting to see venom in Ginny's eyes. Instead she found understanding, and caring.

'Wow, she has really grown up these last few years…' she thought to herself.

"I guess I'll do the same then…"

Ginny nodded her head to continue.

"The last year of Hogwarts I applied to several universities, first just to humor my parents. But after a year of interviews, funerals, people idolizing me for things I was not proud of doing… well I just had to leave. Out of all the acceptance letters I chose Brown, or rather, it chose me. Since I've been here I have changed both my majors seven times. I have a 3.9, only because I took theatre one semester and the professor said I didn't give it enough "soul", so he gave me a B plus. I've slept my way through every single redhead on campus, offending a good handful of them with your name mid-orgasm. And I should be graduating this year. Not sure if I want to get my masters after, or reemerge into the Wizarding world, maybe get a job as an assistant at the ministry."

"Hermione, you're qualified to be absolutely anything in the ministry, with maybe the exception of the minister. And that's only maybe. You can get a way better job than "assistant". Hell you should have an assistant!" Ginny laughed.

Hermione shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"I really don't want to be in a position of power, Gin. I like it here, and I like being a nobody."

"But, Hermione… you aren't a nobody. You never were…"


	3. Chapter 3

**I bet you didn't know that opac is capo spelled backwards. ;)**

**I don't have nearly as much money as JK. Posting this will not change that fact. Sadface.**

**Cheers. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Sunday "Honors" meeting.<strong>

Ginny never thought she'd be in this position again. It had been years since dueling during their DA meetings, yet here she stood, with her wand trained to the love of her life about to unleash the fiercest bat-bogey hex known to wizard kind.

"So it seems you have an unbeaten record there, love." The red head said with a dark chuckle. She glanced once more at the wall, clearly mocking her with its statistics. The stone wall held over 40 names, Hermione's carried over a hundred ticks in the won column and was the only one without a single tick mark in the loss column. She gulped audibly, looking at the woman she was now facing.

"Hey sweetheart, don't take this personally." Hermione said with a Cheshire cat grin. She could hear the cheering behind her, and saw the cheering behind Ginny.

"Flipendo!" Hermione said under her breath. With the flourish of her wand the brunette sent the spell towards her opponent. The red head just nearly missed it; the yellow lightning caught her in the right shoulder and flipped her backwards. The athlete rolled on landing and caste a silent stunner towards the brunette, who dodged it seamlessly.

"Expeliarmus!" Hermione called, watching Ginny's wand fly backwards and into the crowd of people cheering behind her.

Hermione took a few steps towards Ginny, watching the girl launch herself into the crowd after her wand. Once she had the ten inch wonder back within her grasp she turned around and caste a very powerful bat-bogey hex, silently, and straight at the smiling brunette.

Hermione had been waiting for this, stalling for this exact moment so she could deliver the show stopping final blow. She flicked her wand right before the hex hit her and projected it back to its owner, without even a whisper of an incantation. It was a spell she came by one day in the restricted section whilst researching for Dumbledore, and had been using ever since and recently perfected it.

Ginny was unaware of such a spell, as were most people, and therefore never saw the hex coming back to her.

As soon as it hit Hermione's target square between the eyes you could hear a sharp yell come from the red headed woman. Hermione couldn't hold back a chuckle as she saw her lover and long time best friend running around madly. Huge bogeys shaped as bats flew out from her nose and swarmed around her head, pecking at her face menacingly.

"Finite Incantatem!" Hermione said, unable to wipe the smile off her features.

"That… was… cheating!" Ginny barely made out between chunks of snot.

"No… I don't believe I have ever cheated in my life, actually." Hermione said smugly.

"You used my signature hex! That's so not right!" Ginny panted, clearly upset with the older girl.

"It's not my fault you're so damn predictable…"

"Hey, hey ladies! Let's not fight! You'll get her next time stud, I have no doubt." Ja'qule said, clearly holding back his own fit of laughter.

"Yeah, Baby. It's just a silly duel. You'll get me next time." The brunette winked for good measure but was met with a sour freckled face.

"Oh… come here…" the brunette cooed to the red head.

"I dun wanna…" Ginny said dejectedly, but moved into the brunettes arms none the less. It was undeniable, how safe she felt in the smaller woman's arms, even if she was the cause of her recent distress.

"I don't like you right now." She said dejectedly, nuzzling into Hermione's brown ringlets.

"You smell good." Ginny said, a blush creeping up her face.

Hermione pulled away, remembering there were over 40 witches and wizards crowded around them, watching this scene unfold.

"How 'bout you give the lady a kiss on the smackers! Come on now! Give her a go!" Candy yelled in riot fashion. Cheers of encouragement could be heard from all sides, making the two witches blush scarlet.

"Hey, just 'cause she can take me in a duel, doesn't mean I can't wipe the floor clean with every single one of you! So quit embarrassing my lady!" Ginny yelled back good naturedly.

"Hey, Ja'qule." Hermione said softly, pulling the tall man to the side. "I'm going to leave early today. Gin leaves for Germany tomorrow and I don't know when I'll get to see her again…"

"I understand. Take care, Hermione."

"Thank you so much! Come on, Gin."

"Uh, what now?"

* * *

><p><strong>Three years ago, England.<strong>

"You are going to have to sign here, and here. Oh, and don't forget the back there, that's your buyout clause. Do you need a quill?"

Ginny looked up from the contract rudely shoved under her nose and trained her eyes to the snotty woman she'd been ignoring for the last two hours.

"No, thank you." she said lightly.

"Kill 'em with kindness. Ain't that right, mum?" she thought to herself. She flipped to the first page and began reading. Half a paragraph in she heard the woman clear her throat in annoyance.

"Can I help you?" the red head asked, kindness wearing thin on her all of a sudden.

"Yes actually, I'm in a bit of a hurry, if you could please sign the contract as I have more important clients to meet with."

"Forgive me, but I will not sign any piece of paper without reading every single bit of fine print." It was something Hermione always cautioned her to do.

"Hermione…" she thought, feeling the painful void in her chest expand and collapse. Suddenly she felt claustrophobic, the room closing in on her. She could feel her heart rate take off and her blood pressure sky rocket. She needed to get out of here fast.

"Hand me your quill, please." She said in a slight panic. The woman across from her shot her a confused look as she dropped the quill into her shaking hand.

"Are you alright?" she asked politely.

"Yes, splendid. Where do I sign again?"

The woman pointed out the X marks and Ginny went to town without having a clue as to what she was getting herself into. She pushed the papers forward and stood up from her seat.

"You are fired, by the way. When I am named the hottest Quidditch player of this century, you'll remember how you lost me as a client because you had more important things to do. Good day."

Ginny grabbed her jacket and practically ran out of the conference room and into a line of journalists and photographers.

"Accio Nimbus!" she muttered behind a tight smile, sending a prayer out when she saw the broom stick make its way over to her. She shrugged her jacket on, dodging the questions and photographs and jumped on her broom as it whizzed by. She could feel the bitter fall air prickling her skin as she accelerated faster than necessary. Only up here did she feel alive. Only up here could she allow herself to miss Hermione, the one person who obviously never gave a damn about her. She fingered the ring in her pocket and preyed her love was still out there and okay.

* * *

><p><strong>After the Sunday "Honors" meeting.<strong>

"How do you like being a Quidditch superstar?" Hermione asked casually.

"Um…" Ginny thought about it for a minute, not sure exactly how she felt about her career choice. "It's got it's perks, but it defiantly has it's downfalls."

Hermione linked her arm through the red heads pocketed one.

"Give me some of both."

"Okay, well the traveling is awesome. I have been to six contenates, and sixty-three countries. More cities I can count and more hotel rooms then you could imagine. Downside, I hardly ever get to see my family. In the beginning that was good, it was what I wanted. An escape, I guess. But once I started patching myself together, I took it a step further and made amends with everyone in my past. Now I only get to see them during holidays and the occasional game they some how afford to come to."

"That was only one of each, give me more." Hermione insisted, tightening her grip on the redhead's muscular arm.

"Well, I love playing and it never gets old. But… the girls are fucking cut-throat. If they aren't fucking you, they are fucking you over."

Hermione couldn't hide the small frown playing at the corner on her lips. The thought of Ginny fucking her teammates, or any other woman for that matter upset her more than it should have.

"I don't follow quidditch… at all. I actually didn't even know you played professionally. Subconsciously I think I knew you would make it to a professional league, and that's why I've avoided it like the plague."

It was Ginny's turn to frown, not liking how much effort Hermione seemed to put into forgetting her existence.

"Herm,"

"It's Emma now, baby."

"Uh, yeah. That. What would have happened had we not seen each other at that party Friday night? Would you have ever come back? Would you ever have reached out? Or would you spend the rest of your life numbing yourself up on redheads and 24 credit semesters?" Ginny tried, but she couldn't hide the fire lurking beneath her words.

"Honestly, I don't know, Gin. I know I have dreamed about you almost every night for the last four years of my life. I know I have written you thousands of letters, all feeble attempts to explain why I did what I did, and how it in no way was your fault. I know that-"

"I was going to tell you." Ginny said, cutting the small woman off mid-sentence.

"What?" Hermione asked, clearly baffled by the statement.

"The day you went missing. I was going to tell you that I was in love with you that night. I had a dinner planned out that my mom helped me make, and I had background music picked out. I even had a ring I saved up for. Worked at the shop for a couple weeks to get the money for it."

"Oh, Gin. I'm… oh I am so sorry…" Hermione had no clue what else to say. She felt her heart swell with affection for the red head, but also felt it deflate with her own personal failure.

"I have it on me, at all times. I use to tell myself it was 'cause I wanted to be prepared. I just knew I'd find you one day and I'd be damned if I'd let you get away from me again. After awhile I started convincing myself you were dead. Or you hated me. That you must be happy, somewhere in the world where I'm not around to love you. So I stopped carrying it around incase I'd run into you, and instead held onto it to remind me of you. Of your smile, and your laugh. Of how heartbroken I was when I waited one day too late to tell you. It served as a reminder of how worthless I really was. Recently I started wearing it, and not just keeping it in my pocket."

Ginny brought her left hand out of her jean pocket and up to eye level.

"It reminds me that even though I never got the chance to offer it away, my hearts been taken since I was 11 years old." Ginny brushed a tear from her face, training her eyes in front of her. She was unsure where they were walking to, but trusted Hermione would be able to get them there in on piece.

"That was a Claddagh ring, wasn't it?" Hermione asked, shame riddled in her voice.

"Yeah. It's still meant for you, too. Doesn't fit me right, constantly falls off. I lose it more than my flat keys."

The two remained silent on their trek to where ever it was their feet lead them.

"I'm sorry…" Hermione was finally able to vocalize.

"Yeah, me too."

Hermione took a look between them, they ray of light barely visible in the light of day.

"I'll never be able to make up for this." Hermione thought to herself. She felt Ginny slip her hand into her own.

She felt the ring she had failed to notice before and shivered at its coldness.


End file.
